The Rural Voice, 2002-06, Page 29viability for about four years, one
study showed that seeds of
Barnyardgrass buried four inches
deep for 13 years were still three per
cent viable.
For broadleaves, a study found
Lambsquarters had a 32 per cent seed
survival after being buried for 20
years, while another study found
Canada thistle could persist for 21
years. A Nebraska study found that
Curly Dock seeds buried in soil six
inches deep produced annual
germination rates of 76 per cent to 91
per cent in each of 17 years. And in
Denmark, a study found mustard
seeds germinated after 25 years.
perhaps this is not surprising
given that a 600 -year-old
archaeological site in Denmark
produced viable mustard seeds too.
Besides, it is a common observation
in Europe to see a yellow sea of
mustard emerge from a recently
plowed field that had previously been
A 600 -year-old
archaeological site in
Denmark produced
viable mustard seeds
a "mustard free" pasture for decades.
Several years ago on our family
farm in southern Ontario, we plowed
up an old grassy lane that had
probably existed untouched for more
than a century (it had separated field
and pasture and provided the only
access to the "back 40" for
generations). Wondering if I might
miss seeing and walking the old
grass lane, I was surprised to get one
more chance when the lane came
back the following spring — not as
solid grass, but as solid velvet leaf
(see photo).
Let's face it: soils can hold a huge
reserve of weed seeds ready to
germinate under the right conditions.
Virtually any tillage or cultivation
will tend to stimulate another crop of
weeds to germinate. While shallow
tillage tends to decrease weed
persistence in the soil, moldboard
plowing may also tend to increase
seed persistence by "storing" seeds
below the germination zone,
according to OSU. But that may be a
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1-800-320-0666
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HILL &HILL
FARMS
Varna, Ontario
JUNE 2002 25